EDITION OF THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 2017 [PetPowellPress]Here we are on September 14 -- it’s a big day in the charity world around here: North Texas Giving Day. Check your Lotto Texas numbers before you give -- you may have more extra cash than you thought. [LARRY ASIDE: I’m hoping there’ll be some irony here. I hope I’ve typed that Lotto Texas sentence and discovered that, yes, suddenly, I have the legendary “extra cash” I’ve been waiting for all my life.] Oh, and keep reading. We’ll tell you about the worn out puppy catching a few wins in his new home!GOOD NINJA NEWS Yep, some good news from the Texas Hurricane Zone. We got the word Wednesday from our Houston tipster Alexandra Kelsey. Simple sentence: “Ninja has been reunited with his owner, Andrew!” We wrote about Ninja back on September 5. Here’s the key paragraph: “Andrew was one of those flooded by the release of water at the Barker reservoir. When he was able to go back in a boat, he hoped to get his dog, Ninja, but someone had broken a window in his apartment and his dog is missing.” So, Wednesday we saw this note from Leslie Randall of Rescue Bank: “Someone in the townhome complex saw Ninja alone in his ‘house’, took him and kept him safe until he could get in contact with Andrew. So… happy endings and wagging tails all around!!!”

MEANWHILE IN MESQUITE Judi Brown, who monitors the Mesquite Animal Services Shelter, spotted these three dogs. We’ll start with Adee (36497064), the 6-year-old Lab mix surrendered with her companion, Barkley, a 6-pound Chihuahua, because, the bio says, “after all these years they require too much attention!” That’s the description. And the clock is rapidly moving on this dog who has a “beautiful golden color with melting chocolate eyes. She is unsure of her current situation, is timid, so will need TLD.” Where is the Chihuahua companion of this 66-pound girl? Possibly the little dog has been adopted -- there’s no Barkley on the Mesquite list as of Wednesday afternoon. Also waiting for a home is Spice (36497064), a 3-or-4-year-old possibly Jack Russell/Beagle mix. Definitely an Earhound. Loves to be snuggled. Recently had a litter. Weighs 11 pounds.

And then there’s 2-year-old Chow mix Trudy (36442641) victim of a severe flea infestation who wound up in the shelter. She’s had an oatmeal bath an a lot of nice treatment. But she’s on the urgent list.To offer to help any of these Mesquite dogs or tag them, call 972–216-6283 or email rescues@cityofmesquite.com.THE PUPPY AND THE CHALLENGE We’ve been telling people all week that Joyce Conley, the Sadie Foundation founder, had decided to personally help Diamond, a litter of puppies and other dogs living in an RV in Terrell. As you can see, she made good her promise to keep a puppy. That is Rowdy, picked up and named on Wednesday. Joyce post this photo of her and explained, “Rowdy chewing on his Mommy. My fingers have always been Tessie’s favorite chew toys since she was a baby.”About an hour later, Joyce posted, “We should have named him Chewbacca. Lord please spare my 2 rooms of leather furniture. Heading out tomorrow after his vaccine visit to find chew things he likes! Our fingers can't take it and I need to keep our leather furniture. I found one thing in our vast inventory of things he likes. They can be consumed safely so may have to get lots more of those. In addition to our fingers he really likes noses too. And chins. And ears. And toes...” Rowdy wore himself out getting to know his new home and new people. Joyce said, “I can all ready smell the ‘stink’ of how rotten he going to be.” There are still dogs that need a home, including this very kissable Diamond and the rest of Rowdy’s sibling. Here’s a video of “the gang” and here’s a video of charming Diamond. And if you click HERE you’ll see Rowdy on the romp.To offer to help these other dogs find a home, get in touch with Joyce at k9kids1@verizon.net.REMINDER: TRUFFLEBUTTERTHE CAT STILL WAITS

This cat with the improbable name, Trufflebutter is also listed as A1006841at Dallas Animal Services where dog and cat adoptions throughout September are just 20 bucks. That’s right: For $20 you can have a cocktail party story about the time you adopted a cat named Trufflebutter and she turned out to be the muse that led you to become an internationally know stock tipster...It could happen. You have to have faith in Trufflebutter, which I believe was the name of Charles Dickens’ unpublished novel about an inventive cat that developed the seasoned spread used for creating rich sauces. Go to DAS HERE. And here is where to get the recipe from What’s Cooking America. CONTEMPLATION:A DOG IS DUMPED,BUT CAMERAS WERE WATCHINGThis may be my favorite video -- it also makes me wonder why surveillance video in holdups is lousier than this video. OK, the only thing that could beat this dog abandon-ment video would be footage of the guy in cuffs. We’re not using this pinhead’s name because he doesn't measure up to being mentioned in the same breath with any animal on this page or, especially, any human who has been trying to save animals. This action is abominable. If you watch the video, you’ll see that he has the dog on a leash, pulls it out of the car, then as the dog walks to the back of the car, the guy drops the leash and leaves the puzzled dog with a leash around its neck in an unfamiliar area. The guy told the SPCA that he dumped the dog because he was “trying to help his sister by getting rid of the dog because his sister was unable to control her.” Yeah, right. Looked uncontrollable in that video. Go HERE to see the amazing crime committed in broad daylight. What is the penalty for violating Texas statute 42.092“Cruelty to Non-Livestock Animals, known in the Texas Penal Code as “abandoning an animal”? It’s a Class A misdemeanor -- up to a year in county jail and a fine up up to $4,000, if our research is lamentably correct -- we're lamenting that it isn't a tougher penalty. Doing a good deed for his sister? Be nice to know that, yes, this is one of those “good deeds” that does not go unpunished. If you read the comments under the video on that SPCA page, you’ll see that the dog (in the mugshot!) has a new loving home. You know of some cruelty? Know of dogfighting? Failure to feed? Tethered in poor conditions? Visit www.spca.org/cruelty or call 214-742-SPCA (7722). And, for crying out loud, be kind to animals and be stern with people who aren’t.--- To comment, grip your FileChargesMouse and click below. ---